Fifth Largest Swiss Bank Will Allow Bitcoin Trading
PostFinance is the fifth largest financial services bank in Switzerland while also serving as the banking arm for the country’s post office. The company announced that they will be offering 2.69 million of their customers the option to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin by the year 2024.
Despite the downturn in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets, PostFinance’s executive board aims to take advantage of “discounted” prices in the market. Head of Retail Banking Sandra Lienhart states that the company is meeting the demands of their customers and “Given the growing institutionalization [of cryptocurrencies] in the last 18 months, this is the ideal time to enter the market.”
The Swiss bank already offers Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading through their Yuh app in collaboration with Swissquote. From the announcement, PostFinance may be aiming to become a competitor to Swissquote by investing in an “independent” product.
Swissquote became the first Swiss retail bank in 2017 to offer Bitcoin trading services. A reported $104 million in profit for 2021 is also what spurred PostFinance into creating their own platform and servicing a number of customers that may not already have access to a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading platform.
It is reported that the new service will focus primarily on buying, selling, and custodial services for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However, PostFinance will also be seeking additional partners to help with building out other products that they plan on offering their customers in the future.